09 10 25 Regular Board of Education Meeting

001Where would I get it? It is now 7:00 and I will call the September 10th, 2025 full board of education meeting to order. Can we please stand for the pledge of allegiance? The next item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes. You've all received a copy of the August 6, 2025 regular meeting minutes. Are there any corrections or abstensions? >> Motion to approve the meeting minutes from the August 6. I do need to obsessions and I don't think we can do a vote because then we won't have as many paper. Uh so we will table the minutes to the next meeting. Uh the next item is the August 13, 2025 special meeting minutes. You've all received a copy of the minutes. Are there any corrections or abstensions >> to what was August 13

002that I have to abstain? Not the sixth. >> Oh, sorry. >> So, if you can vote for the six, then we have >> five. Okay. So, we'll go back to the August 6. And uh we had a first. Can someone second? >> Second. >> We have a first and second. All in favor? >> I opposed. Okay, motion passes with five votes. We have Commissioner uh Anderson, Ben Gorder. Uh oh, I'm sorry. So, we have Commissioner Ozenowski, Ben Gorder, Simons, Bula, Tagriello, and Ponds voting yes. So, motion passes. Next is August 13th. Can I have a motion? We have uh one abstension and I have a motion to approve. >> Motion to approve the minutes from the August 13th special. >> I need a second. >> Second. >> Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor?

003>> I. >> Motion passes. Uh next I have committee reports. First, we'll start with finance and operations. Uh, Commissioner Carlson is not here. I don't know if you're prepared to give an update. >> I was kind of, you know, asking us the chair this morning. I don't >> Okay, we'll wait till next month for that policy. Absolutely. >> On August discuss three policies which were moving forward to the local board consideration and approval each item three items. Someone's asking if your mic's on. I think it is go closer. >> Is that better? >> Sorry about that. Um so the three policies which were move uh they were moved forward to the full board for consideration and approval. These three items are included on tonight's agenda which we will be discussing further. Our next policy committee

004meeting is on September 24th. Hopping over to student achievement met on August 20th. Um there are eight items that we will be discussing and learning about that are on tonight's agenda. Um and then we received one update um from office of teaching and learning. They shared that uh each day. So now they will be called the curriculum and instructional services. Um our next student achievement committee meeting is on September I almost said November, sorry, September 17th. As part of the update, Jill, I just wanted to follow up with um during the meeting, it was shared that two of the positions that are now going to be rehired, we have um the supervisor of elementary STEM and the supervisor of humanities positions. uh that will be one we're in the middle of interviews and the other

005will be posted and those positions did not have funding based on the budget that we uh the amount of money we were given in the budget. Those positions um now have found resources based on things that have happened after we voted on the budget. So one we had a retirement uh of Jillian Roman and the second was there were some um T-OL teachers that were moved into a grant. Uh and another position in teaching and learning was split between teaching and being a supervisor. So this professional had offered to split the position in order to save the district money which was extremely honorable. Um and therefore after the fact we the superintendent and her leadership team have found resources to replace these valuable positions. And so I just want to be clear that those decisions

006that were made at the board meeting were previous to things that happened after the board meeting that allowed us to actually um allow those positions to be rehired. And we're very grateful uh for that realization and finding of the funding. But there was some concern that night that we we we eliminated positions without understanding the resources. But at the time that we had to eliminate, we didn't have those resources. And so just want to make that clear. So next we have school safety. >> Good evening. The school safety committee met on August 20th. Mr. Cabllis provided safety updates. We also discussed safety training, bus safety, visitor management within all VPS buildings, the hiring process of VPS staff, and our next school safety meeting will be October 8. Thank you. School family committee partnerships is Commissioner

007Simmons and she is not here tonight so we won't be able to do that. So the next item on the agenda is student representative reports. Uh, first we have Bristol Central and Amelia Brown who's the senior. Amelia's online. Hello everyone. Bristol Central and I are very excited to welcome this new school year. It is already spelling great things for the community inside and outside of school. The most important part of our start as seniors this year was to help the freshman acclimate to a new school. The ambassadors had the biggest hand that in that in these last few weeks. They are a very promising group of children. The seniors are also very passionate about getting their freshmen to sign up for new clubs and start their student involvement early. On another note, after this meeting,

008I strongly encourage you all to stop at Rita for some ice cream so that 20% of today's earnings can go towards a senior grad party. For our juniors, they are not wasting time either. They are starting their own clubs as well as obtaining leadership roles inside clubs. In terms of those clubs, theater, DECA, student council, interact, dance team, debate club, math team, and many more clubs officially starting their activities as well. Furthermore, this year our theater department will be performing Little Shop of Horror Horrors and Guys and Dolls, which are both musicals. I hope that you come and see them. Aside from the students, the teachers at Bristol Central are leveling up as well. Bristol Central High School offers a big congratulations to Mr. Troche, our new vice principal. Thank you. Thank you. And next

009we have Bristol Eastern, Paige Ansa. >> Good evening everyone. U my name is Paige Ana and I'm the senior representative for Bristol E High School. Um this is my first report of the school year, so please bear with me. Uh tonight's report will focus on the transition back to school and upcoming activities. Uh back on a August 9th, um BE had a very successful senior sunrise in which many seniors attended. As soon as sponsored by Roma Joe's and marked the start to a new era with many last first. Congratulations to my fellow peers in the class of 2026 for finally making it to our senior year. August 28th marked the first day of the 2025 to 2026 school year. This year's freshmen are slowly but surely adjusting to high school life and learning how to

010navigate the hallways. Teachers and older students have been helping freshmen find their way and adjust to new routines. Our home room schedule this year has gone back to everyday. So instead of just having blue clue on Wednesdays, we pick we have a quick home room on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday and then blue crew on Wednesdays where we usually have a small activity planned. This has gotten a lot of positive feedback from students, especially Lance Nation mentors since they are able to see and get to know their freshman home room better. Bristol Eastern's club fair is coming up this Friday, September 12th. It'll be held in the courtyard and students will have the opportunity to explore the various clubs such as student council, diversity club, model UN, and more. Get ready because the Bristol Eastern's

011football team has their first home game of the season this Friday, September 12th against Golifford High. The theme is black aisle. BE's marching band will also be performing their show music from sing at halftime. Homecoming is Saturday, October 18th and this year and student council is already hard at work planning. Ticket sales will begin the week of Monday the 13th and tickets will be open to upper classmen first and then any leftover tickets will be open to underassmen. And finally, I'll be ending my report with a bittersweet announcement. Our beloved assistant principal, Mr. Redmond, will be leaving Bristol Eastern to head to Simsbury High School. Mr. Redmond brought a smile to many of our faces with his fun, positive attitude and his light-hearted jokes. He participated in many fundraising events. His most memorable being when

012we taped him to the wall. Thank you for everything you've done for Bristol Eastern, Mr. Mman, and I can say for certain you'll be missed by the entire Bristol Eastern community. Thank you and have a great night. >> Thank you. The next item on the agenda is the chair report. Tonight, my report is really about three things: perseverance, strength, and gratitude. Over the past few months, I've seen these qualities come alive in our Bristol school community. Despite the budget challenges, what has stood out most is how everyone has pulled together with heart, with determination, and with a deep commitment to our students and families. I especially want to thank everyone who has stepped up during this budget period. Some have moved from classrooms into leadership roles. Some have returned to classrooms to support students directly

013and others have taken on additional responsibilities sharing or splitting positions so that we can balance our budget while still meeting the needs of our students. The budget has been a big impact not only on classroom learning but also on programs like physical education. These sacrifices have been felt by both staff and students. And while the adjustments meet only the minimum state requirements, they do not reflect a lack of commitment. They reflect the challenges of underfunding. Through it all, the dedication and professionalism of our staff have endured that students continue to receive the best possible education even in difficult circumstances. I also want to recognize our district's leadership team. Their resilience, guidance, and steady support have made this challenging time more manageable. Their care, patience, and willingness to lead with compassion set an example for all

014of us. The first few weeks of school have already been full of positive energy. I've heard from staff, students, and parents that the year is off to a great start thanks to everyone's teamwork, passion, and dedication. I also want to take a moment to recognize our coaches. Thank you for your tireless dedication, not only for coaching and mentoring, but for advocating, fundraising, and making sure our students have the resources they need to succeed and represent Bristol with pride. I've heard directly from our athletes about how much being part of their team and having supportive coaches helps them navigate their day, build confidence, and stay motivated. The impact of your guidance, encouragement, and leadership extends far behind the playing field. It shapes our students character, resilience, and sense of belonging. Due to the financial challenges affecting

015our athletic budget, last month, the board reviewed updates to policy 1324, which guides fundraising. This month, we will discuss revising the policy to allow fundraising efforts to help remove barriers created by inadequate funding. These revisions will help ensure that all students have access to uniforms, equipment, and opportunities to compete with pride regardless of our city's financial situation. Our athletic teams build school spirit and a strong sense of community. I want to thank Superintendent White and Athletic Director Sierra for their commitment to making these changes transparently and in full compliance with state and federal laws, ensuring our programs are strong and that our students have what they need to succeed. Finally, I want to express my help my heartfelt gratitude to our parents and families. Your dedication through volunteering, participating in booster clubs, and in many

016cases, helping cover expenses to support inclusivity truly make a difference in the lives of our students. Your care, generosity, and partnership with our staff help ensure that every student can thrive, feel supported, and experience success. Together, through perseverance, strength, and teamwork, we are creating schools where students can thrive and where our community can be proud. Thank you for everything you do every single day to make that possible. The next item on the agenda is the student representative Oh, I'm sorry. Is the superintendent report. Mrs. >> Thank you very much. Uh, good evening everyone. Um, in light of what happened today, um, the murder of Mr. Kirk, I wanted to share a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He once said, "We as a society have not learned to disagree without being violently disagreeable." And

017as a superintendent, I felt like it was important to say we may have disagreements on politics, on religion, on budgets, on many different things. But the important part is we can have constructive b dialogue. We can try to understand each other better. And it doesn't have to lead to violence, fighting. We can disagree without being violently disagreeable. And I think it's very important that we're very mindful of comments we make around our students, around our children, whatever our political beliefs are. We want to be positive and we want to be positive role models. And I know that we all want to do that. But I know sometimes in the heat of conversations, heat of the disagreements, we forget that. So I just wanted to say that as superintendent. I thought that was important to say.

018Um, I also wanted to just point out two things, chair P, just to make sure it's accurate for the record. So, I think you may have said that Julian Roman um retired. She did resign. Yes, she did resign. Thank you. And also the elementary humanity supervisor position has been posted and um the um applications are being streamed. So, we're in the process of moving forward. So just yes, we're trying we're trying to move quickly. So thank you. Thank you for allowing me to do that. So my superintendent update, I wanted to start by really um again echoing the comments from chair pans about the really positive school opening and I want to thank everyone, administrators, teachers, all staff, central office for a smooth and positive opening. Um myself, Deputy Superintendent Hawk, members of the central

019office team were able to visit most of the schools on the first day and the positive energy, the time that schools took to decorate the schools to be prepared for the students. Uh I just want to give one example. Southside had a red carpet where there was music and there were high fives. just really positive energy and parents are still I'm still getting emails and texts thanking everyone about for that. So, I just wanted to thank everyone for all of that effort and hard work and making sure the school year started off on a positive note. Speaking of school opening, um, and I shared this on Parents Square, my latest superintendent's weekly update, but the Connecticut State Department of Education, Special Education Bureau, actually asked some of our students to perform and present at their

020back to school meeting last Friday. Um, I unfortunately was unable to attend, but they did an absolutely wonderful job. Um, it was very inspiring. They um along with some students from I think the uh school of the deaf uh were able took turns performing. They were asked specifically to sing the national anthem and they also sang be the light which they also performed at um the convocation. And later in the day some of the community vocational students led a presentation on student voice highlighting all they had learned throughout the year and their culminating reverse career fair. And we're just very thankful to the department for inviting us. And we certainly want to thank the office of people personnel services as well as Mr. Vanda and Mr. Sstrom from the community vocational program for all they

021do for our students. It really shown a light on when these students are giving all students are given the opportunity to perform and show their talents. They do a fantastic job. So I just wanted to acknowledge everyone's efforts in preparing for that performance. So, I did want to provide some updates on my student uh my superintendent priorities for this school year. Um, in terms of student voice and engagement, um, as you probably know, we do have a district equity leadership team. Um, and this year, I'm going to propose to the team that our focus be on all students feel connected, supported, and engaged. Um, this means all students regardless of disability, race, ability, creed, color. We want all students to feel connected, supported and engaged. But we also want to provide resources, professional development support

022for educators in the buildings, administrators to understand how they can make this happen and to help me better understand as superintendent how I can support schools in this mission. Along with this and aligned with this effort is the student advisory council which I spoke about earlier. Um, and I'm working on the outline for this council, but the primary focus will be receiving feedback from students on how we can ensure that all students feel connected, supported, and engaged. I'm thinking at this point of having the primary participants be high school students, but we just don't want to hear about their high school experience. We want to hear about their full K through 12 experience. I want to have some more conversations with the high school principles, but I thought hearing directly from students will help drive

023the work of the district equity leadership team. Also moving forward with the superintendent's advisory council uh which is also currently under development. I am consulting with partners for education and leadership. Um they've been partnering with us on a real impact student engagement initiative. um and they are working with me, advising me on how to make sure that this council uh meets regularly. It's productive conversations and there's some actions I get actionable feedback that I can use as superintendent. So, please um stay tuned for more information about that. Um the participants would include representatives from central office and all the bargaining units. community engagement. Um, I announced in my last superintendent's weekly update that I want to start the coffee with the superintendent starting Friday, September 26 at 8:00 a.m. location to be determined. Um, I

024may have the first here at central office, but I do want to have it at different locations across the city to make it convenient for um, different people to participate. But this is an informal series of gatherings uh for parents, guardians and community members to come together, ask questions of me, share ideas with each other and engage in some meaningful conversations about their concerns and how we can strengthen the schools. It's also another opportunity for me to share the really great and wonderful things, innovative things that are happening in the schools. Um so look forward more information about that shortly. In terms of community partnerships, one uh community partner that we're currently talking with is Prudence Pandle. They actually approached me about developing a partnership. They have done some groups I believe with some high

025school students or Bristol Eastern and possibly Bristol Central uh about the importance of healthy relationships. Um, enhancing the wellness curriculum is something certainly that we're starting to have conversations with them. But, um, we want to be able to provide counseling for young students, middle and high school, about warning signs of difficult relationships, how to get out of difficult relationships, how to find support, and also how to have healthy relationships and what a healthy relationships look like. So, we're currently working on that partnership. and I've uh scheduled monthly one-on-one meetings with school principles. This is an opportunity for me to enhance my relationship with each school principal. Uh foster more collaborative relationships, improve communication, and also help me better understand the challenges of individual schools and schools across the district to inform my work as a

026superintendent and also of course inform the board. And I have some Debbie Superintendent Hoff and I have some exciting news. Debbie Superintendent Hoff speak on this. You sure? You you you got the phone call from Everett Lions and I might need your help with pronouncing is it Guangong? Guangong. Um so Everett uh used to be the princip um and he has had a connection with bringing uh school administrators and teachers from China over to the United States for remote week visits. and during their visit this October he has asked if they can come and visit some of our schools. Um he's offered two different opportunities. One is they can speak. We have social studies classes. invite them to come in and share their experience of building up in China and they would also like to

027visit classrooms with administrators to bring back ideas to China to enhance their school system. We are currently waiting last time they came there was a heavy amount of administrators that were at the high school level. However, at other years there were elementary, middle, and high school teachers as well. So once we have a better understanding of who is going to be coming, we will be reaching out to the different schools to see it on I believe it's October 22nd, if you will be going to have some international visitors to your school. >> Thank you. And that concludes my report. Thank you. >> Can I just ask a few minutes? >> Yes. >> Um, so uh really excited about the uh engagement with families. I guess my only question would be uh 8 a.m. might not

028it with your next one. Would you maybe consider evening? >> Absolutely. Thank you for their feedback. And then I think my only other um question is uh have we figured out with the opening of schools um what's going on with the middle school band? So, at the K8 level, um the board did um entertain the vote to um eliminate the in middle school in instrumental position. Um and so in light of that, what we what had happened um is there was conversations about how do we move forward uh with providing instrumental lessons to those students. And so we did have an opportunity to find funding um to fund um a part-time instrumental teacher who will be working with students at both West Bristol and Green Hills. Um it is a pullout model. he's taking turns

029between the two schools during the week. Um, and there's also opportunities for them um to participate in band um in these to pull the students together for band practice once a month and they'll be able also to participate in some statewide and district-wide band opportunities. What has changed is that um Mr. backly. Please correct me if I'm wrong. They no longer have the encore elective for bands at those two middle schools. And so, um, in I had an exchange with one of the principles today about is there a way to have the part-time instrumental person if it would be possible to schedule that section again. So >> anything that I Oh, sorry. Anything I missed, Mr. Beagley, that you wanted to share? >> No. >> So in place of the general the music, I think

030it's changed too with possibly back to >> Yes, that's the conversation that I wanted to have with the principles and also with um the person we have now who's doing the instrumental lessons part time. So for a follow question, um I don't recall us voting on getting rid of the school band in the K8s. I remember part of our budgets um discussion not filling a vacant elementary band position. Um so if you could, you know, fill me in on that maybe. And then um for the general band, did we have to hire or general music? Did we have to hire staff to step into that envelope? No. >> Would you mind coming just to the podium for those online? I'm sorry. I can speak to the program this but the decision of part of this

031decisions I can the program as it exists in our middle schools we have um local music and general music um that we have teacher at both schools and that's part of the encore program. Our middle school instrumental program has banned as the encore and we have to pull out lessons. So um the elimination that was talked about was taking those kids out of the um encore lock system and they still retain no lessons and and that's that's where it is now. But I wouldn't particular it it it was his more Does anyone have any other questions? >> Just have one question. Are those students still able to participate in like a concert? >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> Yes. Thank you. Dominic is his first name. Yeah. is the next item on the agenda is the

032consent agenda. And I have a motion to approve the consent agenda which includes items 7.1A through 7.1G. Motion to approve the consent agenda 718 71G. Second. A motion has been made and seconded. Uh all in favor? >> I opposed. Motion passes unanimously. The next item on the agenda is public comment. I have the public comment in front of me. The board welcomes public input and appreciates the diverse perspectives of the community. While the meeting is open to the public, it is fundamentally a meeting of the board. The public comment period allows committee members to share their insight with the governing body about the agenda items that the board will be reviewing or deciding on. The board values this input and will consider it when making their decisions. Community members are encouraged to express their views

033on any topic related to the agenda. To comment on a topic that is not on the agenda, please email your comment via the contact link on the BPS Board of Education website. Items requiring consideration by the board must be approved as an agenda item by a twothirds vote of the board members present. Such items may be referred to for further study and not necessarily accepted upon at this meeting before a remote Oh, is there anyone online that wanted to do public agenda tonight with public comment? Because I don't need to read the rules if there's not. Okay. Uh the rules during public comment. Everyone is requested to address the chair for recognition. Each speaker must state his name, address, and topic they are commenting on. Comments are limited to items on the agenda. All speakers

034must obser observe rules of common etiquette. Personalities are not to be injected. Speakers should not attack or question the motives of others. Anyone violating this rule will be denied the floor unless waved by the chairperson. Each speaker shall limit his or her remarks to three minutes. A speaker shall have one opportunity to speak per meeting. Written statements and materials may be made available in advance of comments for distribution to board members. Speakers shall state their positions on the subject being discussed. Board members will not respond directly to comments during the board meeting. However, the superintendent may direct the question to the appropriate staff member for followup when appropriate. The chair has the discretion to provide brief factual information. For example, the chair might explain the legal limitations on the board's authority that prevent the board

035from considering the requested action. Speakers cannot donate their time to other people or speak on behalf of other people. Disruptive behavior, harassment, and violence are not permitted. In cases of disruptive behavior, the chair has the authority to warn the speaker, request them to leave, or in extreme cases, clear the group. Okay. First person we have on the agenda tonight is Grace Regali. Hi, Grace. Hello. Um, my name is Grace and I live in Bristol. Thank you, board of ed commissioners. I'm standing here today to address my school schedule. I have been in band for two years. I play alto sax. Music has always been a big part of my life. I have a keyboard, a acoustic guitar, a tambourine, electric guitar, and saxophone. You need less to say I love music. When I play, it

036relaxes me, gives me a safe safe place for my for my art. I was in advance band and got to be an honors honors band. I planned to play all the way through high school. When I went to school this year, I was told no, I no longer had a band class. Instead, art. I am not good at art. Music is where I am. If it's not fair, other schools get to have band of me, though. That means I won't be as good as as my peers. When I get to play again, please consider bringing the band class back to my hills. It really means a lot to us. Thank you, >> Grace. Thank you so much. I'm going to break the rule and just tell you you were brave and kind and I loved

037your speech and I think it's not fair either and we're going to do anything we can to try to get your band back class. You deserve it. The next person is Kristen Beaven. >> Hi, good evening. Uh, thank you, commissioners. And again, um, I heard some information tonight in regards to band that, um, I was not aware of either. Um, from my understanding and from what I've heard from the school, they will be pulling out kids for some instruction. Um, but we have not heard anything about performances or anything like that. Um, so I'm just going to read this to start again. Thank you, commissioners. I'm here to address the issue of removing band from Green Hills in West Bristol. My child has really excelled in band. She has even asked to or she was

038even asked to join honorary band, performing four times last year. There are a few things my daughter practices to be really good at. Softball and saxophone. To take band away from kids and only the kids at the K through8 schools is not equitable. It's not their fault that this is their school or that they will or that they won't there won't be the middle schools next year. She started the year with band on her schedule and then was switched to art with no word to her or to us as parents. When asked, we were told they didn't have notice until Monday before school. This will not only affect children this year, but will put them behind for next year if they even decide to pick it back up at all. Some families scraped to get

039by, but paid for an instrument all summer, uh, believing their child would have band just to start the school year and be told that there was no band class. I'm asking the board and superintendent to reconsider and restore band class for these students. For some, it is their only outlet. They should have their band class weekly and performances just as the regular middle schools. Um, I also do want to say that uh, Commissioner Ponds did reach out to me and informed me that this um, wasn't true, but I can only go by what the school has informed us and that my daughter has not received any band instruction since school bus started. Um, and also just to piggyback because I was listening uh to the superintendent's uh update. Um, and I think that it's wonderful

040to do the uh coffee or whatever with the family and parents, but 8:00 a.m. for most parents is not going to work. So, if you really want to have outreach to the community and to the parents, you might want to think of a time where everyone's not at work. Thank you. >> Thank you for your feedback. appreciate it. >> Thank you very much. Uh Kristen and bringing this information forward was important and we will absolutely look into this and do better. We need to do better. That's not okay. What happened to your daughter? We accept that. Sorry. Uh the next is Joseline. Is it Bonoy? Oh, Joselyn, sorry. Hello commissioners. Good evening. Um I was just wondering if um one I wanted to support the um decrease of the gym requirements for high school graduation.

041Just I know that that's something being reviewed tonight or being brought forward just because I and I also just want to I know you can't but I just want to put it out there. Does that mean if a kid wants to take an extra gym, they can like, okay, cool. And so that's great. So for the kid to really want to take three or four gyms at high school, he can do that. Wonderful. And I support it because I have a kid who like could barely get through two gym classes. So that would free him up to take an extra art class or an extra music class or some other humanities class that maybe he wouldn't be able to take. So, I just want to say I'm in support of that. Um, the other thing

042I was wondering about and just putting out there is I know there was a lot of talk about gate fees policy change last year and theater budgets and things like that. I heard that maybe the theater budget got cut a bit, but I can't find the final approved budget after all the changes on the website. I don't know if that's available yet for the public. I can see the one for um I think it was May, but I know that there were subsequent changes and cuts and things and then maybe some additions. So, I I just want to know where that is so I can see it because I don't see the theater line item anymore on that. So, I just don't know where that is. Um, and if the theater budget did get cut,

043would there be consideration to reestablish some kind of nominal ticket fee or gate fee so that the theater programs don't struggle? >> I can have Superintendent White follow up with you on your your specific questions about budget. Okay, awesome. And we are having a lot of conversations about fundraising opportunities. And so absolutely trying to remove barriers and meet uh the needs of our students and find ways to bring in resources in this horrible time. Okay. Awesome. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. That concludes our public comment. Uh the next item on the agenda, deliberated items, district leadership team reports. Who's doing that? Is that Mr. Gabowski? The first is new teacher hiring overview for 2025 2026 school year. >> Good evening, commissioners. Um, in board book you'll see our annual memo that outlines our teacher

044hiring overview. I just want to emphasize that this is a live document. The snapshot is really as of yesterday. However, we still are in the process of finishing up um some onboarding with a few staff members. So, I'll just go through um the information on this report um to Bristol. Uh to date we have about 12 new teachers. Um going through um would you like me to review each subcategory? There's a lot of data here. I'm not sure if board prefers >> I'll go through it's okay. >> I I I'd like just having the document but I'm not against it if >> How do people feel? Do you want to go through one by one or are you okay with having the document? >> I'm okay. I I think a high level review would be

045good. >> Okay. Thank you. All right. >> High level. >> So, looking at our certification, we have three teachers with initial certifications. These are typically teachers who are usually right out of school. Um we have seven that have provisional um one professional and one resident certificate. Resident certificate that may be new to some of us here at the table. Um we are in a partnership with FE uh TRP um where we identify individuals within our system who could become potential teachers. It's a two-year program. So we have someone who's entering year uh two who will end the school year with a certification. So that's that one individual there. Um looking at um our ethnicity uh we have uh two individuals who come from diverse backgrounds. 10 of them um were not uh residents, four were

046from Bristol. I know in the past commissioners have examined those numbers. So about 33% of our hieres are Bristol residents and the rest of them are from outside of Bristol. One teacher has a bachelor's degree, uh 10 with a master's. Um that's very typical of our teacher preparation programs. Uh teachers roll right into their master's degree programs and we have one with a sixth year. Any questions on the report? >> We're doing this monthly though. >> Is this going to be a report that we're receiving monthly? >> No, no, no. This is uh an annual report every September. this protective but if you guys would like more information I can provide um we have right now in the queue um eight um individuals who are being onboarded which we anticipate in the next week to

047be fully on board. So those are the last group of hireies. Great. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Good evening, commissioners. Um, as you can see, the Edward Free School uh building committee met on August 25th, and after reviewing the options at that meeting, it was renovation status versus targeted alteration, the building committee voted to move forward with a renovate as a new project. The building committee is requesting with DOE to accept the renovation status and to request the board of finance, city council, and joint board to approve the additional funding to complete the project. The amount of poop for this project uh now is 16.8 million. So it would be an additional ask of $12 million. Just a little backstory 16.8 million budget is insufficient to address all of the issues in the targeted

048alteration. And it was determined after review that there would be a need to request probably an um additional funding upwards of 4 million to do the targeted alteration and to bring the building up to code. This would increase the Bristol share to well over the $5.1 million that was originally assumed based on a 69.64% reimbursement rate. In addition, there would still be deficiencies um in the building that would need to be monitored and eventually addressed. If the committee this evening decides to approve the renovate as new request, the cost of the project does increase to 28.8 8 million, but the city share is actually less. It would be 4.42 million because there's an additional 15% reimbursement um because it is an early childhood facility and that would uh boost the reimbursement up to 84.64%. So

049choosing to accept this project as a renovation status and requesting the city boards to increase the funding would allow for a full transformation of both inside the school and the site in its entirety. It would improve the functionality and it would be fully full. There any questions? >> Check. Um um so with your your committee, you guys looked at these four two options only, right? This the limited alteration, renovate us new. >> There's actually four options that the committee reviewed. So there was the renovate. So it was targeted alteration which we were originally looking for with that $16.8 $5 million budget. Um they did some further research research and they found that if we actually were to renovate the school as a whole, we would be able to it would cost the city less money

050than the end and we would be able to get a fully functioning fully equip school. We looked at renovation plus an addition which would be over that $5.1 million. And then we did entertain a build this new school which was like almost $9 million to do that. Um so out of all of the four of those money being uh the budget being the the primary factor they opted for the renov which was the least cost possible. Still another $4.5 million. >> No no it's a total of $4.42 for $2 million. So that would be the cost share of Bristol. Now if you went with just the targeted alteration, you were looking at the 16.8 million budget, that would have been approximately $5.1 million cost share to Bristol. So you're actually saving money on that part.

051Now, if we were to continue with the targeted alteration, you would need probably $4 million because since the the roof roof situated, um the scope of work has changed quite a bit and they've also indicated a lot of code that we weren't that we wouldn't be in compliance with. So, there would be approximately $4 million in cost added to that 16.8. So we would be having to go back and ask for that $4 million which would then make the city's cost share over the 5.1 million plus so it would still be more understood but we like we as a as a board we haven't so it probably has nothing to do with the work you were doing I I I'm gathering was we haven't had a discussion of what redistricting looks like and with their

052two K8s becoming K5 is opening up 13 classrooms and two beautiful new buildings with, you know, great technology, all the things you would expect out of a new building. Um, I I just I I am I wish we had the discussion on if it's worth saving Edgewood when we have 26 classrooms within. So, I appreciate the representative. Sure. Any other questions? >> Yes, if I may, the chair. Um, I did have some questions as to the uh for the uh renovation plus addition number three. What is the uh targeted? um that all that includes >> so it would be it was approximately 4,000 or 4200 square ft that they would add to it. So it doesn't add too much but it does increase the cost the city share um and it's just if you do

053the um it would just add additional classroom space or additional function space to the audiences in the school. >> Okay. There's no targeted um u purpose for the addition. >> There wasn't. It was just something that was looked at. >> All right. Um you know, as far as the uh time frames that they are looking at for all these um >> Yep. So if we um can get into city council and we um get into board of finance, city council and joint board and we move that along, we can go back to the state and request those additional funds and they the schedule would still show the um that we would be able to start school in the prek in the fall of 2027 on any of these. Okay. >> Any either of these two

054either of these two options. >> Okay. So they be both roughly about the same. >> Correct. >> Same. >> Yeah. >> Are there any contingencies built into budget unforeseen? >> So the $16.8 million has probably a zero contingency at this point. >> Which one was that again? >> The 60 for the targeted alteration. Okay. Because we're already looking at having to go back and ask for more money for that. >> Okay. Um and the 28.8 million does carry it contingency. >> So the uh so the limited alteration already need that they'd have to go. >> Yes. >> Renovating that new would have a tendency. >> Yes. >> I I don't have that information yet. Um this was just an an early estimate that was given that was given so we could review these different objects.

055>> Have u have you guys I assume you are consulting with with an architect and >> that's correct. We actually have hired um Penberry Arc and they are the ones who are working for this with this >> question. Any other questions? >> Thank you. I was um just wanting to bring a little clarity because I think Commissioner Van Gorder's questions are important and I do see um that there's valid concern considering have we done a feasibility study. I know. Um I'm not sure were we I was at the feasibility when we heard the different um people who we were considering to do the study and then we picked someone to do the study. Are you connected with this with the people who are doing it right now? >> The feasibility study the enrollment the enrollment.

056>> Yes. So >> through the chair. >> Yes. The chair. I can speak to that. >> Okay. Um, so we did do the RFP through the city and we're working with Zuber and Gallagher. Um, and they are the the two gentlemen who were formerly with I think SLAM kind of who worked on the on the last one. Yeah. So they're very familiar with the with the district. Um, we've had conversations with them, ongoing meetings with them. We are waiting for the October 1 enrollment. Um and actually we had a meeting with them earlier this week um where we were talking about them um doing a presentation for the board after they get the October 1 enrollment probably the November board meeting. >> So would discuss they would present options. So, we haven't been in a

057place yet to have that conversation about where we'll be needing classrooms or not needing classrooms. And because there's other schools as well that we don't have $16 million already secured uh to renovate, those discussions will happen with the board on whether or not we need to keep as many classrooms as we have and that will play into moving forward. Um, one of the clarifying questions I had was, uh, the limited alteration plan and the funding that we've already secured is proven to be something that would not have fully met our needs and required more money from the city. But the full renovation because it's a prek and the government has prioritized prek by refunding us or reimbursing us at a higher rate. The and commissioner Carlson's not here or he would be able to speak

058to this. But he did fill me in on it and that's why I feel like I should just make sure that we're all clear on this. um the higher because he called me very excited after that meeting because he said if we do the full rena we could even be a million dollars in a surplus it because the state's going to reimburse us on this much more money. So that is an exciting revelation. Um and so what I understand is moving to the full Renault not only meets our needs but it costs less and could give us a possible surplus. I'm not sure a surplus is the right fee or a contingent. >> Um so basically we were approved for the project at 69.64%. And we have the um because it's a prechool we get

059an additional 15% reimbursement on top of that. Now, I think what he was probably really excited about, and we're still looking into it, is there is another opportunity to grab an additional or up to an additional 15% because of the special education component. >> So, that's a third opportunity. And if that were the case, we would be up to 99% reimbursement. So, although I don't think that that's necessarily going to be how it plays out, we're manifesting an additional potential that we can grab more money. Taro, yes, it is going to work out. >> Well, that is great news. And that I think is what he that's what he was. >> Yeah, I think he was really excited, which is exciting. 99% for a full Renault would be great news for him. >> And because

060the majority because it's 100% special education because they have 50/50 in the classrooms and we have the um lead rooms which are self-contained. There's special education in every single classroom in that. So, we would be able to request special uh that 15% additional on all of those classrooms >> and we are uniquely qualified because it's a one floor building. >> That's yes. So, we we're like the unicorn right now for that money. So, I think now Yes. >> So, it is not a that is not a guarantee. So, I don't want to give that that out, but it is also a possibility and we're looking into that as well. But either way, we're not asking for more money at this point other than to put it up front and then it would be reimbursed. But

061you were explaining that the reimbursement process now is much faster than it used to be. So it's not that you have to bond or do things like they used to. >> Yeah. So every 3 to four months you do an application with the state and as long as they're not backlogged, you'll get a response back immed within, you know, within two to three weeks they'll usually send a payment back. So, an example is I just applied for the Northeast payment on Friday and I got an email Monday morning that that application has been approved. So, it's going to the next step. It's the fastest I've ever seen it. I was excited. So, >> that is exciting. >> I'm hoping that if you, you know, continuing to apply for those payments, we bring that revenue back

062into >> Well, thank you for being the bearer of good news. >> Yes. >> through the chair. >> Yes. I just um I wanted to thank Tara for all her work on this. Um this project's really the Edgewood roof had been um sort of on the board's replacement since 2012 2013 and the roof was actually supposed to be replaced back by uh 2017 2018 or at least that was the goal. And since I had been on this board in 2021, we've been talking about um doing this roof project. So, this this project has really come a long way. It's had multiple iterations. Um, Edgewood has been put on the back burner for a long time. And so, I really appreciate the uh Terara's work and any of the staff who've been involved in this project.

063And I I look forward to voting for this to move it forward finally. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Absolutely. >> Thank you. >> Can we have a motion? >> I'd like to make a motion that the board of education vote to approve the Edgewood project as a renovation project and seek the additional funding approval of 12 million from the board of finance and city's joint board. >> Second. >> Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? Or is there Well, we had discussion already, so I think we're good. All in favor? I'm not comfortable with process. >> I guess Lori. >> Okay. I vote yes. >> Yes. >> Commissioner Tagello. >> Yes. >> Okay. So, we have a tie and I believe a tie does not pass. So, we will have to bring it back.

064Uh we will have a special meeting this month for other reasons and we'll put it right back on the agenda. >> The chair. >> Yes. Could we maybe bring it back after we hear about the feasibility study in >> Well, we can bring it back if it doesn't pass after that, but at this point, if the majority of the board wants to renode a new and save money, then we'll put the vote back on the floor when we have the full board here. >> Yes. >> I'm sorry. Can I just >> I would like to hear the feasibility setting. >> Okay. Well, if it doesn't vote through, we'll absolutely put it back again after the feasibility setting. Yeah, >> I was just going to make one additional comment. So, if we prolong this, it's if

065it if we prolong it much longer, we will miss our opportunity to go with the state and we will have to wait another year. We decide to go with >> What is the date on that? >> November. >> Okay. Well, we will put it back on a special meeting this month for the full board to vote >> and hopefully we'll get the support to save money and fully renovate a school. Thank you. >> Sorry about that. >> No, you're fine. The next item on the agenda is appoint DOE commissioner to the BCHS roof replacement project committee. Terry, you're going to come back up. You thought you were done. This is an easy one. So, um, the Bristol Central High School group replacement. We went through all of the experts. We went through the um requests

066to apply to the state um all of those uh motions. I believe it was last month. So, we're at the point now in order to build in order to form the building committee, we need to have a board of ed commissioner appointed, a city councelor commission appoints appointed, and a board of finance committee appointed. The three of them get together. They make the nomination committee. They nominate the name that the bill made. So I'd like to ask to personally voted. >> Okay. I don't know that we have to vote on that. I think I can just >> Yes. So I think I'll So I will talk to the superintendent and we will definitely appoint some. >> Excellent. Thank you so much. >> You're welcome. Next we have the pupil personnel services report Amy Martino. >>

067Hi Amy. >> Good evening commissioners. My the first part of my report is talking about the enrollment count. Um you will see that um as of August 1st we've had 1,739 students with disabilities. we uh shift into 1,760 students as of September 1st. Um in terms of outofd district programs, you'll see that we in as of August 1, we had 114 that has shifted to 119 as of September 1st. Part of that was due to one student moving in who required out of district programming when they moved in. In both months, we had approximately 30% of our newly enrolled students requiring special education programming. However, one of the things I did want to call out was um within a oneweek period of time in August, we had eight students who moved in that required in

068district programming, four of which required onetoone uh par educators. And I call that out because uh Commissioner Ted Varela last year had asked me to do an audit of all of our programs. We have 32 and every single program either was at maxed capacity or over maxed capacity. Um so when you start a school year you're already at that level and you have eight students move in, you kind of have a dilemma. And so we talked a little bit with uh Superintendent White and we said, you know, we either have to consider a number of students going out of district or we need to build some additional classrooms. So we've been talking about bringing on a uh some other program classrooms. The great news is that there are some state funding um that is being

069applied. So for example, there is the seed grant that uh districts can apply for. It's about $800,000 across three years and the intent is for school districts to be able to bring in or develop new programs for students instead of needing the out of district program. So I just wanted to call that out. Um in August I apologize in July we had five 211 calls and then in August we had It was zero 211 calls in July and then five in August. We had zero 911 calls in both. There's a second report that I want to review with you as well, but are there any questions on enrollment counts? You may have heard about the dashboard that we're trying to create. Uh so last month we started with our first version. Advance the slide. We

070started with our first version of what this could look like and we really highlighted the main lines within special education. Please know that these are not all of the lines but the main lines. As you can see as of August we've had gone over budget for our extended school year. I will say that that is similar for our um September one and so if you can advance it one more slide. Um, if you have a preference of the way this is visualized, please let us know because we're trying different ways to show the data. But I do just want to highlight that in terms of September 1, as I mentioned, the extended school year line is over budget. When you look at what is accounting for that, 98,863 of the dollars are really coming from

071professional services. And those are all of our outofd district related services, speech and language, counseling, nursing services, etc. We also had 52,000 that was over budget uh for our teacher line and then 10,726 in our parent educator line. Some of that was due to some of the contract changes. The other thing that I just wanted to call out is that professional service line. We did have a high degree of hospitalization tutoring that we we accounted for over the summer. So that was part of the reason we did that. With all that said, you know, although we're over budget, you'll see our biggest lines are really around that private and public state tuition, transportation, and professional services. They are trending, as I would expect. Um I would actually say, knock on wood, that given our lower

072numbers in out of district, that we have a little bit of a cushion at the moment. So that's kind of a general summary of what we have going on. Are there any questions or feedback or preferences? >> Yes, I do have one quick question. At the um finance meeting prior to this um you had discussed um the positive substitute teachers. >> That was Miss Bond was that >> that was Miss Bond. Oh, >> it's okay. I'd love to speak on that but I don't think I have the details if I may the chair. Yes, >> I did have a question regarding the extended school year and um how we were overextended for that some of the drivers that uh that caused us. >> So I mentioned the three kind of big indicators. It was the

073professional services for outofd district programs. So those are those related services, nursing, psychology, speech and language. That was almost close to $100,000 of wider over and then it really was salaries for teachers and eras related to some of the contract changes that occurred and then hospitalization tutoring that were required over questions. >> Thank you. Well, before we move to the next item, I just wanted to say that I thought Joe I thought that there was a a space on this agenda for uh Jodie Bond, but she gave her report at the last meeting. But I just think it's important to recognize Jod, come on up to the podium. It's important to recognize that she was on the consent agenda and has been named our what what's the title? >> Director of finance and I want

074to give her congratulations. She stepped up. She stepped up in a time when a budget, looked un unbalancable and worked overtime tirelessly and made sure that everything that needed to happen happened. And we as a district are very appreciative for the hard work, the talent, the I don't know how many words I could use to say thank you, Jody. Thank you. Um, I definitely owe you probably dinner, maybe a gift card somewhere. I don't know. Uh, you know, she's like, "Yeah, you do." So, uh, do you have anything you'd like to say? >> I just would like to thank everyone. Um, excited for this. I feel very well supported by the whole team. So, I have full confidence um that we'll be successful and I just really look forward to working with everyone. Thank you.

075>> Thank you. Okay. And next we have curriculum revisions. And we have a lot. So Laura Lanza, you are up here for three in a row. The first is accounting one curriculum revision. >> Yes, we are back to our regularly scheduled program. Um all right. So, accounting one, um, this is an articulated dual enrollment course with Tungstes State Community College. This is students first exposure to what an accounting workbook is, the purpose and functions of a general ledger, and an overview of the full accounting cycle. Um, some of the major revisions here. Um, in the past, students began the course with the general ledger and accounting worksheet without having a true understanding of debits, credits, checking accounts, reconciliation, bank statements, and petty cash. Um, therefore, this revision builds on those foundational pieces in units one

076and three. um some flex time was also built in so that there could be some um interdisciplinary connections to math um and ensure deep understanding of um this foundational course. There's some teacher actions related to designing collaborative activities, incorporating real world contexts. Um some visuals and exemplars are suggested for students and some student choice as well. Um so Lori Roberge and Sharon Jakes worked on this. So, a special thank you to them. Um, and they were very intentional in their planning for this course so that it aligns with intro to business and accounting, too. So, if we have any questions or a motion, I make a motion that the board of education vote to approve the accounting one curriculum revision as presented. >> Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? I >> I motion

077passes unanimously. >> Bread six math curriculum revision. >> Yes. Um we're going to have a lot of math curriculum revisions this year, so we can gear up for that. Um math six is the first one to kick off our middle school curriculum revisions. So there has been a full um K12 illustrative math um revision with their programming into version 360. So you're going to hear a lot about that this year. So this um revision focuses on units 1 through 7. Unit 8 is visited at the end of the year and then finished in high school in our geometry and statistics course. That's due to feedback from teachers about pacing and ensuring that there's flex time to respond to students and provide extra practice. Um, in each unit, the relevant information from the Illustrative Math teacher

078materials has been pulled out to align to our curriculum document. That makes it easier for teachers to find suggested ways to support all students rather than digging through teacher materials online or hard copy. Um, an example of this is also that Illustrative Math has changed their assessment structure to ensure that students are provided more just in time feedback. Um, this is with what they're calling checkpoints. And within the unit outline, the curriculum team added how teachers should respond to student thinking after each formative checkpoint. Um, IM's also very explicit about how to support learners with different levels of language proficiency. Sentence stems are provided and clear expectations for how the language of math progresses throughout a unit. Vertical or virtual and hands-on tools are also outlined to provide multiple means for students to conceptualize their

079new learning. We had a huge teamwork on this. Um, so we have a special thank you to all of the 2024 2025 grade six math teachers and former instructional math coaches for taking such a deep and reflective dive into the new curriculum. You can see them up there. Frea Baldwin, Olivia Lec, Nicole Boschamp, John Dothan, Bill Gray, and Yellow Work, Casey Reynolds, Jason Stafford, and >> do something. Um, it looks like you guys took a deep dive through a lot of this. Um, and from what I've seen as teachers have concern with dealing with illustrative math, you have really touched upon. So, hope that's really helpful for everyone moving forward. I guess my only question would be um, has illustrative math, you know, proven to be successful and public schools? >> Yeah. So, last year

080was one of the first years we saw a lot of gains for our algebra one students. Um, and those students have had I am now all through middle school and now into high school. Um, so they had really good gains from last year's algebra 1 students on end of unit assessments to this year's. So I'm hoping that last year we rewrote the algebra 1 curriculum with a lot of these changes. So I'm hoping that work with teachers um is part of that experience for students that it's transferred to them. Um, and so as we work on this curriculum in the following grade levels, um, I'll make sure to keep a similar, um, approach to how we address the curriculum to help support teachers and students. >> I know my kids do great in math. I'm

081surprised by multiplying three-digit numbers in their heads and reads and division problems. So, >> that's the goal. >> I didn't know it was just my kids. I'm glad that it's most of a lot of them. So, thank you to our great teachers. Thank you for sharing. >> Any other discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor? >> I marketing. >> Okay, my last one. So, marketing one is part of the marketing pathway falling between intro to business and marketing 2 with entrepreneurship as the suggested final course of the pathway. We had previously rewritten marketing 2 and now marketing one is following that up. The pathway provides students with the skills necessary to be successful in operating a school-based enterprise. This can be a traditional school store, but the curriculum is written to work with other enterprises

082such as something called a spirit box vending machine. Marketing one students can help run a school store or even a spirit vending machine at certain points in the curriculum. These students will mainly be in charge of the initial marketing campaign around the school to gain student interest in the products as well as doing market research regarding which items their peers would like to see offered. Although the course is based in marketing knowledge, the team really focused on transferable skills that align to our vision of the graduate since this is an introductory uh marketing course with a really great diverse group of students. So, in unit one, students learn about making decisions that connect with target audiences. In unit two, students analyze the market and determine which specific audiences are the target and how to reach

083them. In unit three, students delve deeper into analysis and how certain decisions can affect profit as well as brand reputation. In unit four, students hone their communication skills through the lenses of promoting products, gathering and responding to feedback from customers. And lastly, in unit five, students focus on relationship building with not only customers, but with salespeople and suppliers. To support all learners, teacher actions related to engagement, representation, and choice have been added to each unit, and samples of differentiated expectations are provided for different levels of multilingual learners. Um, a thank you to Heather Sweeney, the former business teacher at Bristol Central, who outlined the progression from marketing one to marketing 2. And then a special thank you to Britney McCari at Bristo Eastern for taking that work and creating the marketing one curriculum. Britney also

084conducted the research on the spirit box vending machines and has really been a strong advocate for students gaining hands-on experiences that benefit the school community. That's marketing one. I'd like to make a motion that the board of education vote to approve the marketing one curriculum revision as consented. >> Second. Motion's been made and seconded. All in favor? >> I I >> I. >> Motion passes unanimously. >> Thank you. Now we have a last check. You're up for one, two, three, four, five. So, >> um, so good evening commissioners. Uh, the first curriculum I'm presenting today is the revised civics curriculum. This is a required course for graduation. It's a semesterl long course open to 10th through 12th graders. It was last revised in 2013. The goals of our revisions were to align uh the course

085to the revised social studies standards which have been driving a lot of our visions and social studies curricula recently. Um consider potential resources, textbooks or other um open educational resources that we could use for the class. We wanted to increase opportunities for the study of current events and civic participation and build meaningful engaging culmin. Um at the last student achievement committee we reviewed some we reviewed some of those changes including the changes to the unit structure that you can see there. Unit one explores the foundations of democracy. Unit two explores the structures of federal government looking at the structures powers and some challenges or issues related to each branch of the government. Unit three looks at public participation. So, how does the media or lobbies or activists, how do they influence the political process? And

086unit four focuses on a couple different policy case studies. We also took a look at the culminating project, which is a policy paper that students write in stages over the course of this semester. Um, talked through that process and what that would look like for students, offering them some options and choices as to what issues they want to research and learn about. Um, big thank you to Sarah Hler, Bunty Ray, and Jeff Fleshman for all their work to revise the course. I'm happy to answer any questions or take a motion to approve the revised cities curriculum. >> I'd to make a motion that the board of education vote to approve the civics curriculum provision as second. >> Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? I >> I motion passes unanimously. Next we have introduction to

087criminology SCSU curriculum revision. >> Yep. It's actually not a revision. This is a brand new course for us. Um which is really exciting because it serves as the capstone in a new criminal justice pathway. So gives students the opportunity to pursue that interest through both a foundational elective and then a college credit bearing class because this is a dual enrollment course offered uh through Southern Connecticut State University. It introduces students to the study of crime from a sociological perspective. Um and it focuses heavily on the v various theories that have developed over time to explain criminal behavior and how those theories can inform issues and reforms. So, it's that second unit that you can see there, the theories of criminology is kind of like the intellectual core of this class. Um, it carries all the

088way through after their interviews to unit 2. Um, it's open to grades 11 and 12. It's a half credit in Bristol public schools because it's a semester long elective, but students can earn three credits at Southern successfully completing the course. Uh, it's aligned to law and justice as part of the pathway like I said. Um, and I'm really grateful to Nate, Jandro, and Alyssa Nin, both for their help in writing curriculum, but also taking on the challenge. This is new content for both of them. So, they're learning in order to provide this opportunity to our students and our faculty leazison at Southern has been extremely helpful in developing the course and getting the civility teachers. So, grateful to all three of them for providing this opportunity to our students. Um, I'm happy to answer questions.

089Make a motion to approve the work. Make a motion that the board of education vote to approve the introduction of criminology SCSU curriculum as >> discussion hearing none. All in favor? >> I motion passes. Can I ask question? >> Sure. >> Um will this be ready for the next semester? It's actually running right now. Um, yep. So, we are getting the final approval for it, but we offered it to students and was scheduled for their semester. >> That motion passes unanimously. Uh, next is Latin one curriculum. Is this a revision? >> This is a revision. Okay. Yes. >> This course was last revised in 2006. Um the goals were really just update the curriculum document using our current template and also to specify the learning targets and success criteria was the biggest um biggest piece

090of work for this course. The units didn't train very much but it gave the teachers a chance gave Katy Rick and Kelly Mahan a chance to collaborate and really break down the sequence and order of what they were teaching for each lesson. Um, we also took a look at updated and newly available resources and how those would inform the pacing and content of the course, those learning targets and success criteria. Um, that was the bulk of the work. We reviewed some of those examples at the last student achievement committee meeting and I'm happy to take questions or ask for a motion to approve the revised Latin one curriculum. >> I make a motion that the board of education vote to approve the Latin one curriculum revision. Second. >> Motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion?

091Hearing none. All in favor? >> I. Motion passes unanimously. Next we have model United Nations curriculum revision. >> Last curriculum for me. Um this is also a new course. So this is a course that was not previously offered in Bristol public schools. Um in the semester long elective students examine the structure, history and function functioning of the United Nations and it specialized agencies. But then the bulk of the course as you can see in units two and three um is really the researching of global issues from international perspective and preparing to participate in a simulated model UN committee which is unit three. The goal is really to expand the opportunities um of model UN the model UN experience and offer it to students who may not be able to participate after school for any number

092of reasons. They play sports um or have other commitments and also potentially to generate interest in some students who may want to take may want to participate in an after school activity after getting a taste in the field of what that's like in the class during the school day. Um I'm really grateful to John Stevens um who is an expert in all things model UN for his guidance and expertise in informative curriculum and I'm happy to take the motion or answer any questions. >> Just one question. Is this a revision? >> This a new course. >> Okay. Make a motion that the board of education vote to approve the model United Nations. >> Motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion? This sounds exciting. So I know I happy that this is now a course here.

093>> All in favor? >> I Dante >> I >> unanimous. Uh you can't go anywhere because now you have a textbook adoption. >> I do. This is and this is directly related to the criminology curriculum that you just um just approved. So this is a textbook um that is recommended um and used by SCSU for the teaching of this course. It's criminology today integrative introduction 10th edition which was published in 2021. Um it is strongly recommended by the SCSU sociology department identified as a core resource in the online curriculum and the good news is that we have dual enrollment grant funding the purchase of the textbook. So um we are trying to get the textbook in students hands as quickly as possible. We did kind of the first read at student achievement committee meeting to

094get some eyes on it and to preview some of the content there and are asking for approval today's textbook out to students. >> Make a motion that the board of education vote to approve criminology today as criminology as second. Motion has been made and seconded. Would anyone like to have a discussion? Quick question. Sure. Um, so we're ordering 84 copies. We know why that cost to ship. >> Um, I mean that's those are standard shipping cost. >> Just seems like a a lot, but I know you don't have any control of that, but just seems costly for 84. >> Okay. Um, all in favor? Okay. Okay. I was like getting hot for a minute up here. Okay. So, >> volunt I >> I motion passes unanimously. >> Um, if I may, chair, um, I actually

095did not voice my vote for United Nations um, social studies program. Thank you. >> Susan, can you make that adjustment? >> Yes, please. >> So, motion would have passed uh 51 with Commissioner Anderson voting no. Thank you for making the adjustment, Susan. I'm sorry I didn't hear that when you did that. >> Okay. Next we have policy revision 6146 graduation requirements. >> Just want to say thank you everybody. >> Thank you. And before I present the policy revision, I hope you'll allow me a moment just to thank the members of our curriculum and instructional services team. As you could see, uh, Mr. Ward, Mrs. Lanza were very busy this summer. And in last year led over, if my calculations are right, over 32 curriculum committees to bring new experiences or better experiences for students. I

096want to thank them for that. And you might have also noticed that we were a little tardy to the meeting and that was because we were in the process of holding interviews uh for one of our positions, our elementary STEM supervisor. So please excuse our tardiness, but it was for a good good reason. >> Very. >> Uh so I'm here tonight to present the policy revision to 6146 graduation requirements. As you know, back in June, the board of education had to make many difficult decisions around how the proposed budget could be reduced. At that time, it was decided that we wouldn't be able to continue to exceed the minimum requirement for physical education as was outlined by the Connecticut State Department of Education. That is one credit. Uh so that is the revision that you'll

097find within the graduation requirement policy. It reduces the physical education requirement down to one. And just for clarity purposes, uh students can take physical education as an elective provided that there is staffing and seats available for students in our classes. I'd like to make a motion that the board of education vote to the revision of policy 6146, graduation requirements. >> Motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion? >> I think the only thing I'd like to ask is um so juniors and seniors were surprised when their schedule changed. Were um any of them notified in advance could fill their gym period with another class maybe that they wanted or >> I believe that communication went directly from the schools themselves. Uh, I had the opportunity to pre to preview what they were going to be sending

098and that communication did say to contact for students to contact their school counselor if they wanted to add a new course. In fact, even after school opened, we were still looking for potential students so that they wouldn't necessarily all want early dismissal if that was in their schedule that they could pick up some of our elective courses that do have openings uh such as some of our courses at Beans. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> I do have another question. >> Sure. on that. When was that? It was um distributed. >> It was done by the school level. I would need to reach out to them. >> I can say that I received it probably a week before school started. I got a phone call about it for my schooler. Anyone else? Okay. Um

099motion has been made and seconded. All in favor? I >> I >> motion passes unanimously. >> Uh next we have policy 6145.2 extracurricular and co-curricular activities. >> Hi sorry good evening. Um I am presenting to this evening um the policy 6145.2 extracurricular and co-curricular activities. Uh so based on the adjustment that was just voted on from Miss Horton um to the graduation requirement for PE and wellness for juniors and seniors uh the athletic academic um eligibility uh would also need to be revised. Previously the policy required juniors and seniors to be enrolled in 5.5 academic credits plus.5 credits of PE. Uh now juniors and seniors would be required to be enrolled in five credits total. Uh this was approved uh by the policy committee August 27th, 2025. >> Thank you. >> I'd like to make

100a motion that the board of education vote to approve the revisions of policy 6145-2 extracurricular activities. >> Motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion? >> Hearing none. All in favor? I >> I >> thank you. Motion passes unanimously. >> Uh next we have policy 6141 advanced courses on programs eligibility criteria for enrollment. >> Okay. Uh so this was one of the mandated um policies that were given to us in the 2223 school year. However, um that it wasn't able to come to the full board. So we wanted to make sure as that audit showed us that we uh bring those 10 to the board. So I believe this is number eight of the 10. So we're getting there. Very exciting. When we looked through uh this policy, we did notice that on the first page,

101um it says that the board is aware of minority students are chronically underrepresented in advanced levels of high school course and programs of similar rigor. And we had a lot of very good discussion about this paragraph. And we did change some of the wording, although we didn't change the intention of the paragraph. The only other alteration that we made to this is found on the third page and it spoke of who should be able to um recommend an honors class uh for a student to take and the recommendations in the original policy from 2223 recommendations were from teachers, administrators, school counselors and other school personnel. The committee had a robust conversation about this and we decided that adding parent and guardian voice to this line will be appropriate. So I ask that two small alterations

102be considered. >> And I have a motion. I make I make a motion to approve Chelsea 6141.51 as revised. >> Second motion's been made and seconded. Any discussion? >> I I listened in on that Zoom. You guys had a really good conversation and debate and I appreciate the work that we did on this. Very thoughtful. >> Thank you. E >> was a long one. >> Okay. So, any other discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? >> I >> opposed. Motion passes unanimously. Any new business? Uh, next we have liaison information reports. Are there any commissioners that would like to share a leaison report? >> Okay, hearing. >> I just have one thing. >> Yes, you're next. City council liaison may wish to give. >> This is just an update from uh the early Bristol Early Childhood

103Collaborative. That's the name. Uh Bristol Early Childhood Collaborative uh partnered with Bristol Fire Department to bring two lucky children to their first day of kindergarten. Congratulations to Giana Palma uh who goes to Green Hills and ID Marani goes to help. Also, if parents are looking for affordable u highquality preschool experience for their child, please reach out one of our state funded sites. Uh, full prek is available at Bristol Child Bristol Child Development Center, Imagination, and Head Start. That's it. >> Thank you. With no other business on the agenda, this meeting is adjourned.